Rawwrrr!

Even though I was late on my way to a lecture, I had to pull over and walk back half a block to study this fabulous leopard  print bike:

From just a few feet away it looks like it's been obsessively hand painted,but it's actually a 70's ish Fuji,  which has been meticulously wrapped in leopard print tape. The "regular irregularity"

of the spots and the gloss of the tape make it look very professional, like it had been painted and then clear coated.

I do hope that that's not the entire lighting system...

Very nice wrapping of a tricky intersection- very clean looking

They missed a spot- presumably they didn't want to pull the crankset to get those last couple of inches of chainstay

I'm not so big on the gold duct tape "handlebar tape"   It smacks of last minute Halloween costume-  although the gold itself is a nice choice, aesthetically.   Maybe it's just me, but this would be drool worthy with VO leather bar tape and a carradice olive with leather piping bag.

Livable Streets Party Tonight

Just a heads up,   Livable Streets is having its annual Spring Meet and Greet tonight, April 26, 6-m to 8pm 100 Sidney Street, Cambridge.   Free for members, or become a member at the door for $35.
Beer wine and munchies, mingling on the patio (weather permitting) and a chance to celebrate, if nothing else the BU bike lanes, for which Livable Streets spearheaded the campaign, as well as hear about current campaigns for a more livable city.

Special guest this year will be Nicole Freedman, former city of Boston Bike Czar,  so come by and thank her for her years of service and incredible accomplishments!  Also meet all kinds of people interested in making the streets more walkable, bikeable and transit friendly.

A Study in Pink*

I couldn't help noticing that this bike parked in a Somerville front yard exactly matched the azalea behind it.

I was tempted to go into the front yard to take photos without the chainlink fence in the way, but thought that might be a bit too bike obsessive and weird :)

I like the contrast of the black rims, spokes and fenders.

A perfect match with the shocking pink of azaleas, and an object lesson on how not to lock a bike you want to keep.

* and if you haven't watched Season 1 of Sherlock, you need to hurry and get caught up- season 2 is coming the first week of May.  I'm not a big TV person, but I thought it was a great fresh take on the somewhat crusty old story.  Benedict Cumberbach is fantastic, but he makes me very glad not to be named Benedict OR Cumberbach.

Rush Hour Race

Livable Streets Alliance, and the Somerville and Cambridge Bicycle Committees are sponsoring a commute challenge where three commuters- one in a car, one on a bike and one using the T race from Redbones in Davis sq to Genzyme in Kendall.   It's a "door to door"  race, so walking to your parking or to the train, and finding a parking spot at the other end are included in your overall time.
My money is on the bike, but at least the person on the T can read while they wait or ride :)

They've been doing this in NYC for many years, and the cyclist won for at least 10 years in a row. I know that the Scientist and I used to be neck and neck on our commute, but I know I'm a lot slower now that I don't filter.   If you can find a route that's all bike lanes, I suspect that the bike might well win though, especially since the parking time is negligible.   Who do you think will win? Do you think it's a fair "fight"?

UPDATE:   I hear a rumor that Josh from Bike Safe Boston has agreed to be the biker-  will he ride the Paper Bike?

April Ladies who Bike Brunch

I had a great time at Saturday's Ladies who Bike Brunch.   We went to Area 4 again, as it worked out so well last time.   We sat at the big communal table, and I think there were 12 people, although I think I lost count at some point as people trickled in :)  Was having too much fun chatting.

It was great to see some familiar faces and some new ones,  and as usual, the food was great.   I went straight to "lunch" instead of "brunch",  with one of their wood fired pies- YUM, and shared a basket of baked goodies with my neighbors.   

We milled around a bit afterwards, enjoying the wonderful warm weather,  and admiring Megan's bike- with "new"old chainguard.  Hers was the only bike parked close to the entrance- everyone else was either parked out at meters, or at the bike rack around the back of the building, so I didn't get photos of people on their bikes before everyone dispersed :(

Next month we're going to try a Sunday instead of a Saturday,  so we'll be meeting on the 20th of May,  location TBD.  I'm thinking we should try somewhere on the Boston side of the river for the ladies coming from that direction, but I don't know as many brunch places "over there".  Any suggestions for a place that can handle a group and not freak out if we linger for more than an hour?   A picnic would be great, but I'd like to have a backup if it's not great weather.  We might also do an earlier time (9?10?)  to stay out of the busiest brunch rush.  Would love to hear suggestions!

Also, for a future meeting, would people would be interested in any sort of bike maintenance clinic?   I dropped by Hub Bikes after the brunch, and Emily was more than willing to do a short demo- I just couldn't say exactly what kind of demo people would like.   I thought at the next meeting we could chat about it.  It might also be nice to connect people to Hub bikes, as one of the constant complaints at these brunches and with women bikers in general is issues with male-centric bike shops.   While Boston has lots of options, and I've learned pretty quickly to vote with my feet if I'm not happy my treatment as a woman at a shop,  I think it would be great to connect our group with Emily's shop.  

Tough slog in

For the first time in so-long-I-don't-remember-when-it-happened-last, I got a flat on my way to work yesterday morning.   It was a slow one, and I managed to make it to the Scientist's office before I had to ditch and take the T.

It's hard to tell it's flat, but put any weight on it and it smushes down completely.

 Of course it's a rear wheel, which is absolutely no fun to deal with  :(  Good thing I have Minerva to ride the rest of the week.  Maybe I'll try to patch it the sneaky- wheel still on the bike way.

To add insult to injury the one Hubway left in the rack at DTX wasn't working (someone had just grabbed the other one), so I had to walk from the T to work.

Just one of those mornings.   At least it was a gorgeous morning- low 70's and sunny.  I wish I'd had my camera to grab some street shots of all the bikers who didn't get flats this morning:   including a stately older gentleman in a natty hat who was taking his bike off the bus rack, a woman in a hot pink pencil skirt with legs pumping- in a hurry to get somewhere,  and a bunch of regular everyday riders in business clothes.

In the evening I rode a hubway from the financial district to Charles MGH.   Merging through that nasty traffic circle was not made any easier by riding an enormous and slow to accelerate Hubway, but I made it fine by being assertive, and then becoming a pedestrian.   Then I walked across the river to MIT where I put Gilbert in the basement of the Scientist's building and hitched a ride home with him.

Women who Bike Brunch- April 21

Just a reminder, the next Women Who Bike Brunch will be this Saturday, April 21, at 11, at Area 4 in Cambridge.   If you're coming, please RSVP in the comments so I can make a reservation.

It was great fun last month, so I hope to see familiar faces, and new ones too this month!